2014 soybean acreage at record high

In the USDA’s Acreage report, the department pegged soybean planted area at an estimated 84.8 million acres, up 11 percent from 2013 and setting a record high. Record-setting acreage was also noted in nine states: Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The report showed that area for harvest is up 11 percent at 84.1 million acres, and if realized, will break the previous record high by more than 7.4 million acres.

While a cool and wet spring across the northern tier of the Corn Belt prevented both some acres of both corn and soybeans from being planted, AgriMoney reports planting delays may have prompted farmers to switch to oilseed from corn.

"For the first time in the last three to four years, beans are economically viable to plant. They compete heads-up with corn," Dale Durchholz, an analyst with Agrivisor in Bloomington, Ill., told Reuters in a report here. "I think the bean acres can still grow."